Sports

November 2, 2014Comments Off on Holders through to u-21 football final

By Seamus Hayes Title holders Eire Og are one step away from retaining the under 21 A football title after their comprehensive 1-13 to 0-5 win over Clondegad at Lissycasey. In the final they will face a North Clare amalgamation known as Clan Lir after they proved too strong for Naomh Eoin/O’Currys at Cooraclare. Hennessy Park in Miltown will host the final on Saturday next (November 8). A seven point tally from Paddy O’Malley helped Eire Og to this latest win and their followers will be hoping that they can go on a retain the title and help make up for the disappointment suffered when losing the senior and minor championship finals. They dominated the first half and, helped by a Shane O’Donnell goal, were well on their way to the final by half time when they led 1-11 to 0-3. The other semi-final proved to be a much tighter affair but the physically stronger North Clare combination deservingly came …

November 2, 2014Comments Off on Hurling medal, a most prized possession

One of Dympna Greene and Claire Gavin’s most prized possessions is the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship medal won by their grandfather, Mick Flanagan, in 1914. The sisters were given the medal by their mother, Vera. “We knew since we were very small that our grandfather had been part of the All-Ireland-winning team, as our mother always talked about it and talked about Amby Power,” according to Dympna, who resides in Ennis. Vera passed away in 1997. “Our mother passed the medals onto us and it wasn’t until Clare won the All-Ireland in 1995 that we realised what these meant to our mother,” added Claire, who lives in Ballynacally. Both are adamant they will pass their grandfather’s medal collection onto their children Last week, Clooney-Quin GAA hosted a cultural weekend and while chairman, John Earls, was making preparations for the event, he managed to locate the medal won by Mick Flanagan. “We were looking for team captain Amby Power’s medal and …

By Seamus Hayes There were angry exchanges at this week’s meeting of Clare GAA when Whitegate chairman David Solon claimed that “the reception given to Wexford when they came to Ennis for the hurling qualifier clash with Clare was disgraceful. Challenging the Whitegate delegate to specify the issues, county secretary Pat Fitzgerald reminded the meeting that “the last time I had to speak after complaints by you, I had to fight to talk as well. “We did not give Wexford any better or worse reception that what we gave to any other county and we didn’t get a great reception when we went to Wexford and we are not crying about it. If there is an issue, come out and say what it is”. “There are three issues”, replied Solon. “The first is that after travelling four to four and a half hours on a bus to Cusack Park, they were refused access to the pitch just to walk around …

THE Clare Champion supplement for the All-Ireland hurling final of 1995 contains a fine interview with the most senior member of the squad, Cyril Lyons. At the end of the interview, in a very thoughtful observation, Lyons, a man who has given sterling service to Clare hurling as a player, manager, selector and coach, expressed the opinion that the GAA in the county ought to capitalise on this golden opportunity of an All-Ireland appearance, to promote hurling among youngsters. “Young boys and girls, who are just beginning to play the game, will be very excited about seeing Clare in an All-Ireland final and clubs must nurture this enthusiasm. Now is the time to prepare for the future,” he said. It is now very evident that the Clare victory of 1995 marked a watershed in the fortunes of Clare hurling. Some may argue that Clare should have won more All-Ireland trophies since 1995. But when one compares Clare’s All-Ireland appearances and …

2014 marks the centenary of the outbreak of the World War I and Clare’s first All-Ireland senior hurling triumph. These two diverse events have their own historical importance but an interaction between them is highlighted by the story of Newmarket hurler, John Fox. Fox featured at right half-back on the Clare team that defeated Laois by 5-1 to 1-0 in the 1914 All-Ireland final. A year later, he joined the British Army. He is the only Clare man to have won an All-Ireland senior hurling medal and to have fought in World War I. Fox later sold his cherished Celtic Cross. His All-Ireland medal was purchased by the late Kevin Keogh from Newmarket. When John Fox died in 1967, Mr Keogh generously returned the medal to the possession of the Fox family from Knocksaggart. John Fox – The Man Born in Newmarket-on-Fergus in 1892, John Fox died in June 1967. He was the longest surviving member of the 1914 Clare …

THE announcement of the All-Star hurling and football teams never fails to provide plenty of discussion. No more than with the selection of any team, there will always be different views as to who should be picked and in what position and this year’s selections have certainly led to plenty of debate. When this scheme was launched back in 1971, it was welcomed by all in the GAA world. While there is still huge support for such a scheme, there appears to be widespread agreement that changes are required to the selection process. The basic principle at the outset, and its still supposed to be the case, is that the scheme honours the best hurlers and footballers over a year’s performance. However, in more recent times, the All-Ireland finalists have dominated the selections and while they, by their progress, get to play the greater number of games and, accordingly, the greater number of chances to impress, its hardly the fairest …

Having jointly managed the Clare U-21 hurlers to the last three Munster and All-Ireland titles, Donal Moloney takes on the role on his own for the next two seasons. Following the decision of Gerry O’Connor to step down from being joint manager due to his work commitments, Moloney was unanimously ratified for the role at this week’s meeting of the county board. Board chairman Michael McDonagh told the delegates that Moloney “has his team in place and they will be announced at the next meeting”. It is reported that Sean McMahon (St. Josephs), Cyril Lyons (Ruan) and Peter Casey, who is a games development officer with the county board, will be part of that team. Lyons was a member of the management team that led Clare to the Munster and All-Ireland U-21 titles for the first time in 2009. Kenny Morrissey (Clarecastle) will manage the minor hurlers for the next two years and his management team includes Eamonn Fennessy, who is the outgoing …

Kilmaley’s Alan Markham is to join the Clare minor hurling management team for 2015. Clarecastle’s Kenny Morrissey will be the team manager, taking over from Eamonn Fennessy, who will continue as a selector. Martin Duggan (Clarecastle) will also be continuing as a selector. Preparations began last Saturday when they held the first in a series of trials to select the panel that will go into training for next year’s championship. This is just one of a number of Clare management teams that will be ratified at this Thursday’s meeting of Clare GAA. There is little doubt but that Donal Moloney (Scariff) will be confirmed as the new U-21 hurling manager. He has been joint manager with Gerry O’Connor for the past three years, when Clare won both Munster and All-Ireland titles. Amongst those being mentioned to be part of his backroom team are Seanie McMahon (St Joseph’s) and Clare GDA (games development administrator), Peter Casey. Barry Fitzpatrick is expected to …